


Stories of the Second Self: Monsters Under the Bed

by John_Steiner



Series: Alter Idem [8]
Category: Urban Fantasy - Fandom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-01
Updated: 2020-02-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:35:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22501855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/John_Steiner/pseuds/John_Steiner
Summary: Tim thought his dad cut the legs off the bed to keep monsters out from under it, though the truth was starker. The monsters roamed the town, and tonight they would visit the house.
Series: Alter Idem [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1618813





	Stories of the Second Self: Monsters Under the Bed

Tim’s bed no longer had legs. That was meant to keep the monsters under there from being able to come out at night, he was told. Except, that wasn’t true.

Tim heard that voice again, a whisper like an autumn wind through dead trees, "You will awake!"

Stirring with his eyes barely opened, Tim noticed the huge robed figure with an iron crown. Before he could scream, a metal hand clamped around his mouth. After that, a couple pairs of hands came from behind the iron crown and lifted it off. The robed figure's own hand tore off the voluminous hood to reveal a man with dreadlocks and dark gray skin. Tim couldn't see his eyes, and hoped he never would.

Slapping the hand off, Tim bolted from his room screaming, "Daddy!"

Pounding on his parents' door, Tim froze on seeing the partially robed figure boldly pacing down the hall. Behind him were other people, including a woman with antlers.

"You want to try it on all of them?" a bearded man with plaid shirt asked.

"Not yet," came that same deathly voice, "I'll sponsor my little friend, Tim here. It shouldn't take so much for a child."

Without warning, the door to his parents' room opened a crack, and Tim heard his dad, "Hey, what's up buddy?"

Before Tim could warn them, the robed mad with the dreadlocks waved his followers forward, and the shoved the door wide open to grab Tim's parents. Tim screamed futilely, as the robed man grabbed Tim about the waist and picked him off the floor.

"I was just having fun back there," the robed man said with a light and chipper voice, adding in mockery of Tim's dad. "Buddy."

The robed man had Tim, his parents, and his older brother, Kyle brought into the kitchen, where the antlered woman reached for a light switch and looked to the robed man. "With your permission, Papa Henry."

A flick of fingers from the robed man signaled consent, but added in his happy go lucky tone, "I suppose, but that's when the screaming will start."

Tim was let go into the kitchen when the light came on, Tim saw that the man's eyes were solid black and screamed alongside his mother and father.

"Ohh, really," Papa Henry called out, like an admonishing cartoon teacher.

And just like that they stopped, though Tim's dad asked, "What do you want?"

"Before we begin," it's as if the man named Papa Henry just realized something with a raised finger, "What's the story with the bed?"

"Daddy did it to keep monsters from getting me," Tim volunteered all too quickly.

"Well, it didn't stop one, did it now?" Papa Henry replied, leaning forward with his mailed hands on his thighs.

"With all the shootings," Tim's dad clarified, "I was afraid stray bullets would come through our windows. All our beds are like that now."

"Ah, that's better," Papa Henry praised with his kids show demeanor, and waved a hand in front of himself before taking the gauntlets off. "Now, we're going to play a little game."

"Ooh, I like games," Kyle said, though still seemed frightened.

Tim's mom and dad said Kyle was special, though, sometimes when Tim was frustrated by Kyle's ill-timed speaking, he called him stupid. Oddly, Tim felt particularly bad about that this moment.

"Good for you!" Papa Henry called out and tapped his finger against air as if it were on top of Kyle's nose. "This game has an unusual name, can anyone guess what it is?"

Tim shook his head and unconsciously scooted backwards on his butt.

"It's called This Is How We Die," Papa Henry announced with joy, as his followers helped him take off the huge robe with Mister Rodgers demeanor.

"Son of a bitch!" Tim's dad jumped up and rushed Papa Henry. "Don't touch my family!"

Papa Henry grabbed Tim's dad by the throat, even as he were looking elsewhere, and faced Tim's dad with an instantly uncheerful face, using that haunting ghost voice he spoke with earlier. "I did not say it was your turn. But, as you are so eager...."

Papa Henry pulled Tim's dad in and bit him in the neck. Tim's mom screamed and was about to get up, when the antlered woman pulled out a gun and pointed it, "Let's not have your children be completely orphaned."

The antlered woman tilted her head at Tim's mom, while Papa Henry greedily fed off of Tim's dad. After a moment, Tim heard a crack, and looked up to see that his dad's neck was at an unnatural angle, and his entire body limp.

Papa Henry threw Tim's dad to the side like he were a stuffed toy, while speaking in his chipper voice, "In case you're wondering, Tim, that's how you lose. You're all going to die, but that doesn't mean you will all lose. Who wants to know how to win This Is How You Die?"

Mom's hand shot out for Tim, and she tried to carry him off, while pulling on Kyle's hand. But a loud pop rang out, and Tim felt his mom's arm grow slack as she fell on top of him.

"Okay Tim," Papa Henry spoke while effortlessly lifting his mother off him. "It's your turn now."

"I'm sorry," Tim pleaded desperately, his hands up to shield himself.

"You didn't do anything wrong, Tim," Papa Henry consoled, as if he were now Tim's dad. "But it's still your turn. You want to win, don't you?"

"Okay," Tim squeaked.

"That's better," Papa Henry soothed, and pulled a sleeve up from his own wrist. "I'm going to teach you how to play. I'll open my wrist, and you get a delicious drink. Would you like that?"

"Yes," Tim answered before thinking about it.

"Good boy," he replied, and cautioned, "Now the rule is you have to keep drinking no matter what happened. Alright?"

"I'll do it," Tim said, unsure what was about to happen.

Papa Henry waved at one of his people, and one of them brought over a knife. Tim recoiled, but Papa Henry stayed him. "Ah! It's not for you. It's for me. I'm going to be neat, and I don't want you to get messy either. We can't let any of this spill, or you won't win."

A quick swipe put a red gash in Papa Henry's wrist, and he shoved it in Tim's face. Tim panicked at the blood coming out, but Papa Henry shove the wound into Tim's mouth. After, Tim felt someone else's hands grab him and tilt his head to the side. Feeling the many sharp teeth in his neck caught Tim off guard, and he stopped drinking for a moment.

However, someone slapped his wrist, and Tim realized it was the woman, "No one told you to stop! Keep going."

Desperate to live, Tim drank Papa Henry's blood. It was thicker than blood should be and not warm, but Tim tried not to think about it. However, with his own blood loss Tim's head began to spin.

"Am I done?" Tim sighed, before going slack in the many handholds on him.

The last thing Tim could hear was Papa Henry's voice, "Almost Tim, but not quite. You almost won."


End file.
